The Operator
Release Date: July 22, 2024
Adventure, detective, puzzle elements, Crime, indie games, simulation elements, singleplayer
OpenCritic
The Operator is an adventure game, in which our job is to provide support for agents of the fictional FDI sent to the field. We help them solve various crimes, analyze the material, search databases and use a specialized software for completing various types of tasks.
Videos and Screens
[0:30] The Operator The Operator - Gameplay Trailer
Destructoid: 7 / 10 by Zoey Handley
Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.
Game Rant: 4 / 5 by Michael Leri
Developer Bureau 81’s ability to file The Operator down to its best components and focus solely on what works is its biggest asset. It’s not a bloated campaign with an equal balance of tacky and tactful puzzles. Instead, it’s a taut collection of cases that work in tandem to create a gripping adventure that encourages savvy problem-solving. It’s all cushy desk work, but The Operator makes examining phone records and enhancing grainy security camera footage just as exciting as tiptoeing through an enemy base with a silenced pistol.
Twinfinite: 4.5 / 5 by Syed Hamza Bakht
The Operator is a short but very well made mystery that leaves you craving more of its amazing puzzles and storytelling moments.
The Operator Description
The Operator is an adventure game in which we play the role of the titular operator who remotely supports agents of the fictional FDI. The game is the debut project of the independent studio Bureau 81, which has been in existence since 2023.
Plot
In The Operator we play the role of an employee of the fictional FDI agency, investigating criminal cases that exceed the competences of the police. During the game we have to deal with various cases, including murders, disappearances, and cyber attacks.
Although our task is "only" to provide support to field agents, over time we begin to learn more about our employers. Establishing contact with the wanted cybercriminal known as HAL allows us to gradually uncover the grim truth about the people holding the highest positions in the FDI.
Gameplay
Despite the title The Operator may suggest similarity to the 911 Operator series, we are in fact dealing with a different production. In the work of Bureau 81, it is not the victims of crimes or people in need of help who contact us, but agents sent to crime scenes, and our task is to actively provide them with support.
We support our colleagues working in the field by searching through the collected evidence and databases for them. All of this is to find clues that could lead the FDI on the right track, and consequently - identify the perpetrator and lead to his capture.
Although cleverness, intuition, perceptiveness and meticulousness are welcome in this work, the implementation of the tasks entrusted to us is facilitated by specialized programs, such as video, photo and chemical analyzers (ChemScan). A notebook and a fully functional terminal are also useful.
From time to time we have the opportunity to look into unauthorized places. When doing this without informing our superiors, we risk losing our job, however, the temptation to gain additional information may prove to be too great.
The Operator Summary
Platforms:
PC / Windows
The Operator System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core i5, 4 GB RAM, graphic card 4 GB GeForce GTX 970, 3 GB HDD, Windows 7